When Shahin Sanaei Seisan, Psy.D., walks across the Orpheum stage on Nov. 9 during the 2025 Adler University Commencement ceremony, the moment will symbolize far more than academic achievement. It marks the realization of a lifelong promise — and the beginning of his next chapter as a psychologist and advocate for compassionate care.
“I came to Canada as a refugee,” he said. “Back home in Iran, I wasn’t allowed to pursue higher education because of my Baha’I faith. I was told I didn’t belong — that I couldn’t study past high school unless I denied who I was.”
That moment of exclusion became the catalyst for a new beginning.
In 2009, Dr. Sanaei Seisan fled Iran for Turkey, where he lived as a refugee for nearly two years before resettling in Canada in 2011. He was in his early 20s, starting over in a new country with little more than determination.
“I like to say I started from minus, not even zero,” he said with a smile. “I owed the government for my flight. I had to learn English, understand a new system, and rebuild my education from the ground up. But I knew this was my chance to achieve my goals.”
He worked multiple jobs — at a bakery, as a security guard, and later as a mental-health support worker — while studying full time. At first, his dream was to become a physician. But one introductory psychology course changed everything.
“I realized that psychology was another way of healing and helping people, maybe even on a deeper level,” he said.
In 2020, he enrolled at Adler University and began his clinical psychology doctoral journey.
Finding community at Adler
From the very start, Dr. Sanaei Seisan said he found something special in Adler’s community.
“It wasn’t just a university, it was a family,” he said. “I came from a completely different cultural and religious background, but I was welcomed without hesitation.”
He recalls how his cohort, made up of students from diverse countries, professions, and life experiences, became a source of inspiration.
“We all came with different stories,” he said. “But instead of dividing us, our differences made us closer. We supported one another through some of the hardest moments. To me, that’s what true community feels like.”
At Adler, Dr. Sanaei Seisan said his understanding of psychology only deepened — not just as a science, but as a way of being.
“I learned that psychology is about more than theory or diagnosis,” he said. “It’s about empathy. It’s about loving and understanding people, about seeing their humanity no matter what they’ve been through.”
His dissertation, “Exploring the Effects of Acculturation and Socio-cultural Factors on Iranian Women’s Mental Health,” focused on refugees and immigrants, communities whose challenges mirrored his own. As he prepares to register as a psychologist in British Columbia, Dr. Sanaei Seisan said he hopes to continue serving marginalized populations and advocating for compassionate mental health care.
Maybe it’s because I know what it feels like to be unseen, to have to fight for a place in the world.”
“Belonging and inclusion aren’t just academic concepts for me,” he said. “They’re lived realities.”
Finding the right words
As commencement day approaches, Dr. Sanaei Seisan admits he does get emotional thinking about his journey.
“When I think about standing on that stage, I know I’ll think about being a teenager in Iran and being told I could never go to university,” he said. “And now, here I am, finishing my doctorate. It’s hard to put into words.”
However, as this year’s graduate speaker, he said he’ll find those words to thank everyone who have made this achievement possible.
“When I picked up my diploma on campus, I was joined by my wife, my parents, my siblings, my in-laws because this isn’t just my success,” he said. “We did it as a family.”
Dr. Sanaei Seisan said he also hopes to find the words to convey a message of unity and hope.
“We’ve all faced struggles, each in our own way,” he said. “Graduation isn’t the end. It’s the beginning. We now have the skills and knowledge to go out there and make a difference.”
If there’s one thing he wants his fellow graduates to take from his story, it’s that hardship doesn’t define you.
“What defines you is how you move forward,” Dr. Sanaei Seisan said. “If you move forward with compassion and courage, better things are always possible. I would know.”